Put Your Hand in the Hand
"Put Your Hand in the Hand" is a gospel pop song composed by Gene MacLellan and first recorded by Canadian singer Anne Murray from her third studio album Honey, Wheat and Laughter.
It became a hit single for the Canadian band Ocean, released as the title track to their debut album. The single peaked at No. 2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, kept from No. 1 by "Joy to the World" by Three Dog Night. The song also reached No. 4 on the Adult Contemporary chart. The single version omitted the instrumental, that occurs between the second chorus and the second verse, as well as the repeat of the chorus and the final instrumentalist chorus, that ends without the fade. It went on to become 22nd best-seller of 1971.
After MacLellan's suicide in 1995, his friend and fellow Atlantic Canadian musician Ron Hynes wrote the song "Godspeed" as a tribute, the lyrics for which reference the title of this song.
The song was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2006.
Track listing
7" singleA1 "Put Your Hand in the Hand" – 2:52
A2 "Tear Down the Fences" – 2:53
Chart history
Weekly charts
;Ocean| Chart | Peak position |
| Australia | 6 |
| Canada RPM Adult Contemporary | 6 |
| Canada RPM Top Singles | 10 |
| Canada RPM Country | 34 |
| New Zealand | 1 |
| Norway | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 2 |
| U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary | 4 |
| U.S. Cash Box Top 100 | 2 |
Year-end charts
;Alan Garrity| Chart | Peak position |
| South Africa | 1 |
| Chart | Rank |
| South Africa | 5 |
Cover versions
The song was covered in the 1970s by a number of other performers, including Elvis Presley, Randy Stonehill, Frankie Laine, Donny Hathaway, Joan Baez, Dutch group Himalaya, the Les Humphries Singers, a German-language version by Cindy & Bert, a French-language version by Canadian singer Renée Martel, and recorded by Bing Crosby for his 1972 album Bing 'n' Basie. It was also covered, and often sung in concert, by Anita Bryant.Evangelist Garner Ted Armstrong rendered his take on the song in a January 1976 episode of Hee Haw. Country acts Sandy Posey, Lynn Anderson, Loretta Lynn, and The Oak Ridge Boys also recorded the song.
South African singer Ray Dylan recorded it on his 2009 album Goeie Ou Country - Op Aanvraag.
Later uses
- In a 1991 episode of the sitcom Family Matters titled "Choir Trouble", the cast was singing the song in their church as part of their Gospel Fest.
- In the 2013 film Prisoners.
- In a 2017 episode of US television series Last Man Standing titled “Take Me to Church”